Volkswagen CEO says emissions scandal bill could rise

WOLFSBURG, Germany, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Volkswagen
may have to set aside more than the 6.5 billion
euros ($7.4 billion) it has so far allocated to cover the costs
of an emissions scandal if car sales suffer, its chief executive
said on Wednesday.

"The 6.5 billion (euros) applies to the recall," Matthias
Mueller told reporters after a tour of VW's headquarters in the
German town of Wolfsburg.

"I can only speculate about any further provisions. Should
there be a change in sales volumes, we would react rapidly."

Lower Saxony Premier Stefan Weil, a VW supervisory board
member, said sales had been stable in October so far.

Volkswagen also confirmed it had stopped the sale within the
European Union of new cars containing the software that can
cheat diesel emissions tests.

VW admitted on Sept. 18 it used illegal software to
manipulate emissions tests on diesel vehicles in the United
States, sparking the biggest business crisis in its history.

The admission has wiped about a quarter off its stock market
value, forced out its long-time chief executive and sparked
investigations and lawsuits across the world.

Volkswagen has suspended Frank Tuch, head of group quality
control, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Tuch is the fifth suspended worker whose name has become
public. Volkswagen declined to comment and Tuch did not reply to
repeated attempts by Reuters to contact him.

Asked whether a small group of employees could have alone
been responsible for the deception, Mueller said: "We are still
deep in the middle of the clarification, including the question
of the possible culprits and causes."

Mueller, who replaced former chief executive Martin
Winterkorn a week after the scandal broke, said the
investigations were "relatively extensive and complicated" and
went back to 2005.